Rumours, Reactions, and Runaways
by InTheCompanyOfDragons
Summary: The pain of Stanford is still fresh on Dean's mind, while Sam is still struggling from the loss of his normal life. During a case about missing teens in Michigan, the brothers learn what they had forgotten about each other and rediscover the brotherhood that they thought they had left behind. Brotherhood AU by Ridley
1. Chapter 1

Rumours, Reactions, and Runaways

Chapter 1:

Dean was attempting to watch Sam in the rear view mirror while simultaneously trying to keep the Impala on the road. Dean was happy to see the kid sleeping, but even though he hadn't woke up screaming in the last couple weeks Dean knew his little brother was still in a deep depression about Jessica, and was getting frustrated about the search for their Dad.

The third time he hit the rumble strip on the side of the road, a deep sigh brought him back to reality and he glanced over at the man in the passenger seat. Caleb Reaves was watching him, with a sour look on his face and when he turned towards Dean throwing an arm over the back of the bench seat, Dean groaned at what he knew was coming.

"We have never been good at all that sharing and caring bullshit Damien don't start acting like a bitch now." Dean grumbled.

"I'm acting like a bitch?" Caleb said with a smirk. "I'm not the one looking over the back seat every five minutes checking on the baby."

Dean's ears went red at the knowledge he had been caught. It wasn't like it was new for people to see him over protective of the kid; it was just that people weren't usually so open about it.

"I'm just making sure he doesn't wake up flailing and kick the back window out of my car, you know how hard it is to find proper fitting parts for this thing now a days?"

Caleb snorted and sat up to take off his worn black leather jacket.

"Good thing you know a grumpy old man who owns a junk yard then. I think he hoards car parts for you just in case you need them." Caleb said taking his own glance at their youngest in the back seat. "He hasn't been having nightmares lately Deuce, he seems like he is doing a little better then the last time I saw him."

Dean sighed and glanced over at his best friend.

"He's surviving it, but you and I both know there is no getting better from that, Dad never got over it."

"That's different, John lost his wife, the mother of his children… Jessica was-"

"The love of his life." Dean said quickly. "I mean he really loved her Damien, more then me and you will ever understand."

Caleb swallowed and looked at the kid in the backseat. He liked to think he was the oldest, the one who past on his wisdom to each of the Winchester's, but the truth was in some ways Sam knew more about life then any of them, and he carried so much pain inside him.

"Did he tell you that?" Caleb asked.

"Not with words… but you could just tell." Dean smirked. "Sometimes, he remembers her, and just for a second his eyes light up, and he smiles… and before he remembers that she is gone, and that this is his life, he is just so happy…"

Caleb had met Jessica a few times over the years, some Dean knew about… some he didn't, but he had seen the way Sam looked at her, and the way Jess looked at him. It was something he has never had, but he understood it as love. It was completely pure, like the darkness of Sam's past was being cleansed by her goodness.

"I'm glad he had that while he was at Stanford…" Caleb said.

Dean's hands clenched on the steering wheel as he tried to pull whatever emotions he was feeling together, Caleb gave him the moment, waiting for Dean to speak again.

"You know, when Sammy was a teenager I knew he was angry. I knew he was mad at Dad, and didn't like moving around all the time but I never thought that he wanted to get away from us. I thought he was happy… I didn't realize how angry and sad he was until he had already left for Stanford and then it was too late to fix it… and now… he'll never be the same."

"Of course he won't, he isn't eighteen anymore… but he is gonna be okay… just give him some time."

"Yeah I guess…" Dean said. He put the blinker on as they passed a sign for the turn of into the next town. "Baby needs gas, and I don't know about you guys but I need some fuel myself."

"Yeah I could definitely use some sustenance, should I wake him?" Caleb asked.

"I'm awake as long as you two are done with the broment." Dean swore under his breath, worried his brother would be mad they were talking about him, but judging by the dorky half awake look on his face, he has only heard the tail end of the conversation.

"Don't be an ass Sammy, you're the girl here."

Sam snorted and draped his arms over the front of the seat.

Did you say something about food?" Sam said.

"Yeah, this looks like a good place." Dean said pulling over in front of Jay's Diner. Sam groaned, one thing he hadn't missed about life on the road was the steady stream of greasy diner food.

"Chill kid, I'm sure you can get a salad here, or maybe you can put on your big boy pants and get a burger like a man."

Sam slapped the older man on the back of the head.

"Fuck you Reaves."

Caleb turned to hit him back when the squeak of the Impala's car door distracted him.

"Okay, be nice children." Dean said getting out of the car. "I say we get food, find a motel to pass out in, and then we got a case in Wixom."

The three men made their way into the diner, finding their way to the back corner far from the other patrons.

"Alright, so give me the low down on the case again?" Caleb asked around a mouth full of fries.

Sam took a sip of water, before pulling a newspaper article out of his pocket, and sliding it across the table so Caleb could read it.

"8 high school students have gone missing within the last 10 years, all reported missing by their parents or guardians when they didn't return home."

"Runaways maybe?" Caleb suggested.

Sam shook his head, pushing his bangs out of his eyes with his hand.

"Too many coincidences. All in their senior years of high school, no history of trouble, good grades, lots of friends. They were just regular guys, top of their classes. None of them had any reason to take off, they just disappeared and were never seen again."

"Lots of good kids run away Sammy..." Dean said. Caleb watched as a look of pain made its way across Sam's face, which was quickly covered up by classic Winchester fury.

"Not these kids, Dean. These were just happy go lucky kids, and then they were gone, people are looking for them, their families deserve to know."

The silence was awkward, as he two brothers thought about Stanford, and the different ways it weighed on each of them

"Alright boys, lets just get this done." Caleb said.

Both Winchester's seemed to come back to themselves and nodded in agreement. Sam stood first slapping some money one the table, before making his way outside. Dean sighed and followed silently. Caleb ran his hand over his face, they needed to solve this case, and he needed to keep the Winchester's from killing each other. It seemed so simple.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"C'mon Sammy, you aren't gonna sit in the car like a little lost puppy, live a little." Dean said.

"It's Sam, and catching the clap from a roadhouse barstool isn't my idea of living."

"Yeah well when you get older you'll learn you can't catch the clap like that, and we need cash and as much as I hate to admit it, you make a decent second… so stop with the sour face and get your ass out of the car."

"I got no problem with hustling a little pool, but I would like to point out I can afford to get us a nice hotel room." Caleb said. He enjoyed showing off the pool skills that John Winchester had shown him when he was a teen, but he also had access to Hilton hotels all over the world for a reason.

That seemed to snap Sam out of his funk and he pushed the door open, leaning back in to look at Caleb.

"Winchester's don't take handouts Caleb, even when we need them." Sam said.

Dean tensed and walked up beside his brother giving him a cold stare. He didn't want to fight with Sam, but he took that as a hit at how he raised his brother, and he had always tried his best.

"What's that supposed to mean Sam? You always got everything you needed. You made it to adulthood didn't you? Me and Dad did everything we could."

Sam looked at Dean, but didn't argue back. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"You forget sometimes that you and Dad are only two thirds of the Winchester family, I was not referring to you."

Sam walked towards the bar, followed by Caleb and Dean who kept their distance so they could whisper quietly.

"Do you think Sam ever went without?" Dean asked.

"You both did at times." Caleb said.

Dean shook his head and asked again.

"I mean at Stanford, do you think Sam went without things he needed because we taught him that asking for help made him weak?"

Caleb sighed and turned towards Dean waiting until Sam was through the door of the bar before he began to speak in a steady but loud voice.

"I was as pissed at him as you were when Sam took off and stopped talking to all of us, and I was hard on him every single time I saw him over those four years. I did my best to make him feel as guilty as possible for leaving you behind because it made me feel better about not being able to replace him.

But you know what Deuce? I know now he didn't call because he wanted everyone to think he was doing great on his own. He didn't call because he knew if you asked him to he would run right back to everything he hated about this life. He didn't ask for help from his family during those four years. So are you asking me if I think he went without things he needed because his Winchester pride got in the way of asking for help from strangers? Damn right he did. I am sure that kid knows more about poverty then we'll ever know."

Dean swallowed hard, and fiddled with the zipper on his jacket. He knew Caleb wasn't trying to make him feel guilty, but this was his little brother they were talking about, and the fact that he went to an ivy league school surrounded by rich kids who were supposedly his friends, and he still knew what it was like to go to bed hungry, the thought made Dean's stomach churn.

"Lets go in and play some pool, we got a case to solve."

The three hunters did their thing, and came out on top, but Caleb could tell that Dean was distracted. He was watching his brother closely, which was normal but it seemed like Dean was trying to put together the pieces of his brother that he didn't understand.

When they had gotten enough cash together they made their way back to the motel. Dean threw his jacket on the bed and flicked on the TV, while Sam made his way to the table to continue going through his notes.

As usual, the research on the case was going slowly, mostly because Caleb and Dean had the attention span of a flea and Sam was on the verge of killing both of them.

"You know, this would go a lot faster if you two would help me read up on the past victims." Sam said loudly.

"Yeah well, having our geek boy sidekick back was suppose to get us out of book reading duty." Caleb said with his typical smirk.

Sam felt a headache building behind his eyes, and for once it had nothing to do with psychic powers, it had to due with the extreme annoyance he felt towards his brother and his best friend.

"I know book smarts aren't your thing, and I promise to double check your work, but I happen to know you can read. So if you two don't mind could you get off your asses and read some newspaper articles before I decide to put a bullet in your leg, it would be greatly appreciated."

Dean looked genuinely shocked by his brother's attitude, but then a smile made his way across his face. He shut off the tv and fell into the rickety share at the table.

"I'll help you Sammy, I forgot you missed you nap. You always get a little grumpy." Dean said.

Caleb snorted and went to the fridge pulling out three beers.

"Fuck you Dean." Sam said, attempting to hide his smile behind the newspaper.

"Here." Caleb said, passing Sam a beer. "Stick this in your mouth, it's a Sasquatch sized pacifier."

Sam rolled his eyes at the adolescent bullying and went back to his research, choosing to internally relish the feeling of being someone's little brother again.

"I don't understand, except for the age of the victims, these attacks seem completely random. Different dates, times, even the victims don't share any physical similarities." Sam said.

"We gotta be missing something… me and Caleb will go talk to the past victims families, you can go check out the school, talk to some of his friends." Dean suggested.

"Alright, I got the addresses for the ones that are still in town, ones of the victims in 1998… Chris Teller, his parents left town about a year after his disappearance, but his girlfriend at the time still lives in town. Her name is Anna Perry, and if anyone knows anything, it's her."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Caleb asked.

"Two weeks after he disappeared, she dropped out of school, left home, got hooked on drugs, and she has been in and out of rehab ever since then. She did a stint in a mental ward where she claimed and I quote "She isn't gonna get me like she got Chris".

"She could just be crazy." Caleb said. Sam gave him a disgusted look.

"Or she could be traumatized. But she's the best lead we got."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The next morning Sam headed over to the school, while Caleb and Dean made their way towards Anna Perry's home. Caleb watched out of the corner of his eyes as Dean nervously tapped away on the steering wheel with his fingers. If he didn't know Dean so well, he would think he was just tapping along to the music in an uncoordinated rhythm.

"You usually this nervous when little brother is out of sight?" Caleb asked innocently.

Dean stopped his persistent tapping and a blush spread across his face. Of course he was, but people usually weren't around watching as he panicked over Sam's absence.

When Sam was at Stanford, sure Dean missed him in every bone, but he thought that his brother was safe, this was hunting and things could go wrong in a blink of an eye.

"I just want to make sure everything goes as planned." Dean answered vaguely.

Caleb sighed, it was such a Dean like thing to say, it was the way Dean had always been, trying to control everything so he could keep his family alive. He wished Sam could see this side of Dean more often, that way he didn't twist what he was seeing to see nothing but a controlling older brother.

"Sam knows what he is doing Deuce, he is a Winchester after all."

"Yeah but he's rusty! How many hunts has he been on in the last four years? I mean we only know about the one, after his freshman year? And look at how that one turned out? Laid up in a hospital room, right above Dad with busted ribs and a concussion."

"Six…" Caleb muttered.

Dean threw a frown towards him.

"Six what?"

"Sam's been on six hunts in four years, at least there are six that I know about."

Dean's eyes lit up with anger and he skidded his car over to the side of the road.

"I swear to God Damien, you better start talking or I am throwing you out of the car and running over you a few times."

"Calm yourself Deuce, after that first time we found him in a hospital we always had a watchful eye on him… hell he saved mine and Josh's ass one time on a haunting a San Francisco. If he ever brings that one up I don't think we will ever live it down."

Dean sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments before looking out at the street in front of him.

"How do you know about all this? Did he call you?" Dean asked quietly.

Caleb heard the underlying question; Dean wanted to know if Sam called Caleb when he was in trouble, instead of calling Dean and Caleb knew how bad that would hurt his friend.

"Sam never called me for help. Not once. I just had people keeping a close eye on him. He did fine Dean, he rarely got hurt, it was never as bad as the first time, and he is back now so stop worrying about him."

Dean sighed and pulled back onto the road, staring down at the concrete like it had personally caused a rift between him and his brother.

"And here I thought he wanted to give up hunting…" Dean said harshly.

"He wanted a break, he wanted to go to college, have some normality." Caleb replied.

Dean scoffed as he pulled up in front of the victim's house.

"There's a difference? And since when do you defend Sam?" Dean asked. He sounded mad, but genuinely curious, but Caleb wasn't in a place to give him the answer he was looking for.

Dean had no idea how much he had stood up for Sam over the years, and over more important things then Stanford.

"That is something you need to take up with your brother. C'mon, lets go interview the witness. "

The house was ramshackle to say the least. The white paint was peeling off the paneling, and there were shutters falling off the windows. The yard itself was full of trash and it had a distinct smell that was indescribable.

"This is interesting." Caleb said crouching down in front of the door.

Dean came up beside him and looked down at the white powder that was sitting along the doorway under the matt.

"Salt, well seems like someone knows what she is dealing with."

"Yeah, and exactly how to handle it." Caleb added.

He stood up and knocked on the door, watching as the curtain shifted slightly in the side window.

After a few moments, the front door open up an inch, held in place by the security chain, and a small frail looking women looked out with big haunted brown eyes.

"Who are you?" She whispered.

"Are you Anna Perry?" Caleb asked.

"Yes…"

"I'm Caleb and this is Dean, we want to ask you a few questions about the night Chris Teller died?"

Anna's eyes narrowed, and she closed the door a little farther.

"I don't need two more people to make fun of me. I know I'm crazy. I just want everyone to leave me alone."

As the door closed farther, Dean saw their window of opportunity slipping away, so he decided to do something he had never done before, he decided to tell the truth.

"I know what the salt's for." Dean said.

Caleb was looking at him like he had lost his mind, but the door began to open again to reveal Anna, so Dean ignored his friend for the time being.

"You do?"

"Yeah, it is kind of what we do. Are you trying to keep a ghost out?"

Anna look confused before slamming the door closed, leaving Caleb groaning.

"Good going Deuce."

"Just give it a minute."

Sure enough the safety chain clicked and the door swung open.

"Come in." Anna said.

The trio made their way to the living room, sitting down on an aged pink couch.

"What do you know about the ghost?"

Anna pushed the hair out of her face nervously and it instantly fell back.

"Nothing… except she doesn't like secrets…"

"Secrets? What kind of secrets?" Dean asked.

"I can't tell you that, it's for her to know, I don't want to her to come back." Anna said.

"Okay. Did she kill Chris?"

Anna sniffled and nodded her head frantically.

"Yes… she didn't like his secret."

"What did she look like Anna? Can you tell me that?"

"She was pale and sad looking… and she had a horrible scream…"

"We are going to get rid of her okay? We will keep you safe." Caleb said.

Anna smiled.

"She isn't going to hurt me… just as long as I stay here…"

"Why is that?"

"I think it is time you leave now. If you were smart, you would stay away from her. She doesn't like secrets, and you won't be able to sneak up on her."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Dean drove his car up Main Street and parked in front of the local coffee shop where they were going to meet up with Sam.

Considering there was another missing kid, the town was still bustling, life just went on as if the town people knew the kid was gone and they had accepted they would never know what happened to him.

"Shouldn't Sam be done at the school by now?" Dean asked.

Caleb tapped him on the shoulder and look down the street towards an alleyway, where he had seen a familiar figure standing on the corner.

"He's right there, looks like he isn't done interviews yet."

Sam was talking to a teenager who was not much shorter then him, and the teen seemed to be quite upset. Caleb and Dean watched as Sam grabbed the kid's shoulders and led him down the alleyway so they couldn't be seen from the street.

"That seems a little strange doesn't it?" Dean said. Sam knew better then to go somewhere secluded, so either he felt completely safe for some reason, or Dean was going to kill him later for being an idiot.

"Well let's go down there, see what we can hear." Caleb answered, pushing open the squeaky door of the Impala.

The two men made their way down the street and hid themselves right against the opening of the alleyway. They were close enough to hear what was being said, but they knew that if Sam was on to something, if they ran into the alley they could scare away the witness.

"Brent, you have to calm down." Sam said.

"Calm down? My best friend is missing!"

"I get that, and I want to help but I need to know everything that you know."

Brent sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"Tom hated this town. I mean, he cared about his friends and his family, but he had dreams outside of here. His Dad wanted him to keep working at their auto shop after graduation so he could take over when his Dad retired…"

"But Tom didn't want that."

"Yeah… he had applied to college when we started our senior year, but he didn't really think he would get in. But he did, he was going to be an engineer, he just couldn't find a way to tell his family."

"So he kept it a secret, no one in his family knew?" Sam asked.

"No… he didn't know how to tell them. He knew they were going to be pissed and that it was going to hurt them… I just don't understand why it is so bad to want something for yourself…" Brent whispered.

Sam sighed and put a hand on the younger mans shoulder.

"Tom didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes we have to do things for ourselves, even if it hurts the ones we love… and maybe even though you are gone, they will keep on loving you anyway. That's all you can hope for."

Brent wiped tears out of his eyes, and nodded his head.

"Do you think we will ever see him again?" The teen asked.

"I don't know… but I am going to try my best to bring him back."

Dean couldn't listen to the conversation anymore. It hurt to think that Sam thought those things. It hurt even more that he was trying to comfort this kid, when nobody had offered Sam the same comforts.

"C'mon Damien, we will meet him at the coffee shop." Dean whispered walking ahead. He heard his best friend sigh, but follow him and Dean didn't look up until he was sliding into a booth, holding a cup of coffee in each hand.

"You know Deuce… he wasn't talking about you back there." Caleb said.

Dean scoffed as he took a sip of thick brew that was supposed to be coffee.

"He was speaking from personal experience, he was talking about all of us."

"He knew we cared about him."

"Did he? Cause I know I never told him I did when he took off. Neither did Dad."

Caleb was saved from answering Dean's question when he saw Sam walk through the door of the shop. He slid in beside Dean and the older Winchester pushed the second coffee cup towards his brother.

"They don't serve your type of frou frou crap here, but there is plenty of cream and sugar on the table." Dean said.

"Bite me Dean." Sam replied, grabbing a couple of sugar packets from the jar. "Did you guys find out anything from the girlfriend?"

"Yeah, turns out she isn't crazy. She saw a ghost and she knows it too. Salt central station around her place." Caleb answered.

"And the ghost doesn't like secrets." Dean added.

"The ghost is attacking teenage boys who are keeping secrets from their families. Tom and Chris were leaving for college in the fall, a couple of the other victims were hiding the fact that their girlfriends were pregnant, and at least one was gay and in the closet." Sam said.

"Well, we know the motive we just have to figure out who she is." Dean said. "Great… research. I'm gonna go take a leak, and then we can hit the library."

Sam watched as Dean walked towards the bathroom and then turned towards Caleb.

"How much did you two hear?" Sam asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Caleb said innocently.

"Please, if there is one thing I learned growing up it was to know when I was being watched by my brother."

Caleb sighed, and looked at the kid. He looked tired, but there was a maturity behind his eyes that wasn't there when he left four years ago, it wasn't even there two years ago when Caleb had came to Stanford for Sam's help looking for his brother.

"We got there in time for the 'sometimes we have to do things for ourselves' speech."

Sam nodded and pulled on his tie.

"I'm sorry about that."

Caleb shrugged.

"Don't apologize if that's the way you feel."

"That's how an angry, depressed eighteen year old kid felt when they went to California and left everything he knew behind."

"Is that why you never called?" Dean asked from behind Sam.

Sam swore under his breath as his brother slid back into the seat beside him.

"I didn't call because I didn't want to force you into anything." Sam answered ominously.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm not the one who took off."

Dean's hurt often came across as angry, but Sam could see right through his façade.

"I didn't want you to come see me because you felt like you had to take care of your little brother. I didn't want you worrying about me because it was your job. So maybe I wanted you to call first… and I don't know… tell me I was worthy of talking to, not just talking to me out of responsibility when I broke down and called home."

All was quiet for a moment, the bustle of the coffee shop drowned out by the silence of the brothers.

"I didn't… I didn't think you wanted to talk to me. I thought you wanted to make a clean cut from our world." Dean finally said after a few tense minutes.

"Not wanting to be a part of hunting, and not wanting to be a part of the family are two different things Dean."

"Sammy… I'm sorry."

Caleb watched as Sam plastered on a fake smile.

"Like I said Dean, those were the thoughts of a sad eighteen year old kid, you have nothing to apologize for. Lets go find out who our ghost is so we can get the hell out of this town."

Dean stood so Sam could get out of the booth. He walked out and stood by the car leaving the two older men in the shop.

"I don't know how to help him." Dean said.

"I don't think he expects your help Deuce."

"Fuck that, I left him alone when he was at school cause I thought that was what he needed. Apparently I was wrong, so I am not gonna leave him alone now and let him wallow in all that has happened to him in the last four years."

"Alright kid, simmer down. Lets get through this case, then we will figure out what to do with Sam alright?"

"Alright fine."

Next stop library, which was already miserable enough, but now Caleb was going to have to deal with two guilty and angst ridden Winchesters. Kill him now.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The three men sat quietly at a wooden table in the back corner of the library. Sam was leaning on one hand, focusing hard on the newspapers in front of him, Dean was watching him, and Caleb was watching both Winchester trying to figure out what to say to make the tense silence less awkward. He was used to things being tense between John and Sam, but never Sam and Dean.

Sam leaned up slightly, taking pressure off of his arm, and no matter how much he tried to hide it; both of the older men saw the discomfort on his face as he worked to try to move his arm into a more comfortable position.

"You okay kid?" Caleb asked.

A firey glare met his as Sam peered out from behind his hair.

"I'm fine Caleb."

Dean sat watching his brother before poking him in the shoulder, eliciting a curse from Sam as he slapped his brother's hand away.

"Could you not fucking touch me?" Sam ground out.

"That shoulder still bothering you after all these years?" Dean asked. This Dean could handle, it was an old injury, a Raksasha attack. Back when Sammy was still a spindly teenager.  
Sam sighed and leaned up against the back of the chair with a wince trying to straighten out. No point in hiding the pain now, he was made.

"Not often. I've just been bent over looking at newspaper clipping for too long, it tends to irritate it."

Dean nodded, and pulled a Tylenol bottle out of his jacket pocket, like he knew he was going to need it.

"Here, take these and give it a minute."

Sam took the bottle and popped to in his mouth, swallowing them dry.

"Thanks."

"So? Did we find out her name?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, Linda Marshall she was twenty three when she died."

"Okay, and why does she hate secrets so much?" Dean asked.

Sam huffed out a pathetic laugh.

"Well…that is where this story gets messed up and sick."

Caleb snorted.

"Our job is always sick and twisted, lay it on me."

"Okay, so get this." Sam said, turning the paper towards the older hunters. "About fifty years ago, Linda came home from college with her new fiancé in tow. She came to tell her parents she was pregnant. And that is where this story takes a messed up turn. Her parents took one look at her fiancé, and told her a secret that they had kept from her all her life."

"Which was?"

"Two years before Linda was born, her parents gave a baby up for adoption, a baby boy, he was adopted by the Huntington family in Michigan."

"What does that have to do with-" Caleb paused as he looked down at the top newspaper clipping that read Engagement notice: Huntington-Marshall.

"Holy shit, she was doing her brother." Caleb said.

Dean coughed and turned a strange shade of green.

"Seriously, you couldn't find a better way to put that?" Dean croaked.

"Anyway," Sam continued. "When Brian found out, he booked it out of town, married another girl. Linda couldn't get an abortion because it was illegal, and then 7 months later she gave birth to a still born baby girl. A year after that she was found hanging from the light in the kitchen of her apartment, apparent suicide. Her father and Brian disappeared, never to be seen again."

"So she is killing teenagers why?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged.

"I'm not so sure she wouldn't kill someone else given the chance, teenagers just always seem to have deep secrets that make them east targets. She hates men who hurt her, and she hates secrets that hurt others."

"Well then… maybe you should sit this one out Sammy." Dean said.

"Excuse me?" Sam said. He was obviously trying to give Dean a chance to take it back, because he had definitely heard him the first time. Dean put his hands up in front of himself in a placating gesture.

"Look… I'm not trying to start a fight here… I am just pointing out that you kind of fit the victim type here, so maybe it isn't a god idea for you to be throwing yourself in the middle of it.

Caleb tensed as Sam's fist curled into themselves.

"What exactly do you think I am hiding now Dean? We live in each other's pockets, how could I hide anything that important from you?"

Dean shrugged and sank further into his seat.

"You managed to before." Dean mumbled.

Sam leaned forward, closing the gap between him and Dean.

"You really want to talk about this now Dean?" Sam challenged.

"Maybe I do." Dean said coolly.

"Uhhh… guys? Is this really-"

"Shut up Damien, this has been a long time coming." Dean snapped.

"You are still mad because I ran away to Stanford? Seriously?"

"Damn right I am, you ran away from your family and you never looked back." Dean whispered.

Sam looked at Dean for a minute, and then laughed sadly.

"You are so wrong Dean. You have no idea how wrong you are."

"Try me."

Sam looked up at Dean with tears in his eyes, and the big brother in him wanted to back down, but the pissed off man who wanted to pound Sam into the ground won out.

"I was going to stay, here I was this seventeen year old kid with a full ride to one of the best Universities in the country, and I was so close to burning the damn thing and staying." Sam whispered.

Caleb choked, he knew that part, Sam and him had talked about it once upon a time.

"So why did you go?" Dean asked.

"I was running away Dean, but I wasn't running away from you… I was running away from me…"

Dean groaned in frustration.

"You want to tell me what the hell that means? Cause all of you went to California, we are the only things you left behind."

"You don't get it Dean." Sam cried pulling at his hair. "I'm not like you, I always knew that but then something happened and I realized that I would never be like you, it wasn't even a goal that John Winchester and his ridiculous training regimes could push me towards. It was an impossibility for me."

"What are you talking about?"

"That night… Dad came back without you and told me you were alone in the woods with that witch, I knew that as soon as you were safe I couldn't stay. That I had to leave… something bad happened inside me on that hunt. Something I can't explain… something dark… and I don't like who I am when I am hunting. And being with you guys wasn't enough for me to forgive myself for being that… evil."

Caleb was watching Sam out of the corner of his eye, there was nothing evil about him… but Caleb definitely knew something about feeling evil, about the darkness inside of them.

"Sammy, c'mon man, that just makes you a good hunter." Dean said trying to empathize, while suddenly feeling like a huge dick for bringing this all up.

"No Dean it doesn't. Sometimes I'm okay, but then other times I forget I'm supposed to be out there saving people and all I can think about is kill kill kill…"

Sam took a deep breath and looked back up at Dean.

"I hunted at Stanford because sometimes I needed to take the edge off, and then I met Jess and she dulled it for a while. She made me feel human, like maybe that darkness didn't need to be part of me. Then Junior year… we thought… we thought…" Sam faltered.

"Thought what Sammy?" Dean whispered.

"We thought she was pregnant… she wasn't we found out later…" Sam smiled. "Thank God, cause I can't bring a kid into this world… not any kid who shares anything in common with me…"

Dean's eyes were huge and he was lost, not knowing how to help his brother.

"Sammy, I'm-"

"Don't." Sam snapped.

Sam ripped of the corner of the newspaper.

"Linda and the baby are buried at this cemetery. We have three hours until sundown, I'll meet you back at the motel."

Sam got up from the table and walked out, leaving Dean and Caleb alone. They sat in silence before Caleb got the courage to say anything to his friend.

"You okay Deuce.?

Dean grunted and stood from the table, he began to pace back and forth.

"Did you know about any of this?" Dean asked.

Caleb sighed.

"I didn't know about the false alarm with Jess… but me and Sam had a discussion when he was finishing up high school at the farm the summer you got kidnapped… he told me he was going to stay."

Dean tensed and looked down at his friend.

"And what did you say?"

"I asked him if that was what he really wanted… and he told me it didn't matter because of how much you had given up for him. He asked me what kind of brother he would be if he walked away from you. I didn't hear anything else about it until you told me you had found his acceptance letter and that he was going to leave."

Dean seemed puzzled, but nodded. Caleb needed to say something else.

"Nobody believes all that shit you know." Caleb said.

"What shit?"

"Sam isn't dark or evil, he is amazing at what he does… and well… as the baby thing goes, any kid would be lucky to have him. He isn't cursed man, he would have been an awesome Dad, and he would have known exactly what to do. "

Dean snorted and began to gather up the newspapers.

"How do you know? Winchester's aren't exactly known for winning any number one Dad awards." Dean said.

"Bullshit Deuce, you more then earned yours, and he wasn't even yours to raise."

Dean looked up surprised, as if he didn't know he had done everything right by Sam, and it made Caleb's heart ache.

"C'mon kiddo, we'll finish this heart to heart later, we got to go find your little brother and burn some bones, we always have time to fix the rest after."

Dean sighed, and discreetly wiped his wet eyes. Caleb said nothing.

"Okay." Dean said, once again stony faced. "We got work to do."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

It was tense, as the three hunters stood at the back of the Impala, rifling through the trunk. In hindsight, they should have known better. If there was one thing they learned growing up it was you never go into a hunt pissed off at the people you are hunting with.

Today, they ignored that rule. Caleb didn't feel like it was his job to address the harsh feelings between the brothers. Sam was guilty and sad at reliving his time with Jess, and Dean seemed to be more pissed at himself then anybody for making Sam feel that pain again just so he could attempt to win a childish argument that made no difference in the grand scheme of things.

"Lets get this done so we can get the hell out of this town." Sam said.

The older two nodded in agreement and they made their way into the graveyard.

The tombstone itself was easy to find, just along the fence line beside two other people who had died a few years before her. Dean imagined that they had been one of those old couple that had died with in days of each other, probably lived in blissful arrogance of everything they had grown up knowing.

Caleb kept watch for a while, until Dean let out a loud sigh, and placed the blade of his shovel across Sam's making the younger Winchester grind his teeth in frustration.

"What the fuck Dean? I would like to get this done." Sam snarled.

Dean didn't let him go though; he simply grabbed a hold of the shovel and watched as Sam twitched in discomfort.

"Give Caleb the shovel and keep watch, your shoulder has been acting up all week, and as much as I appreciate you playing through the pain, I want to get this done too and it will be much easier if Caleb helps me."

Sam wanted to tell Dean where to shove it, but the truth was his shoulder was pulsing worse then it had in a long time. He was already wound tight from the events of the last few days, and the motion of digging wasn't making it feel any better.

"Fine."

Sam sat in silence, rubbing at his shoulder and later, Dean would not know what made him, but he asked a stupid question.

"Would you want to be buried next to Jess?" Dean asked.

Even Caleb stopped shoveling, and looked at his best friend as if he had lost his mind. Sam glared down into the hole, gripping hard at the shotgun that was lying on the ground next to him.

"What?" Sam growled.

"Shit…" Dean whispered, realizing how ridiculous he had just sounded. "I just… I was looking at the graves over there and it just made me curious, if you would've wanted that."

Sam frowned and looked over at the graves, a look of longing passed over his face before he shook his head.

"I was a curse to her in life, I'm not gonna curse her in death too. I mean, would you want me buried next to mom?"

"Jesus Christ, you aren't a curse kid." Caleb said. "I know this shit messed you up, but it isn't your fault."

"Can we just get back to the task at hand?" Sam said.

Sam went still for a second, as cold breath made its way out of his mouth.

"Shit, finish digging the grave!" Sam yelled as he shot a salt round across the graveyard at the ghost of a young woman.

Dean and Caleb dug frantically and just as Caleb reached for the matches in his pocket they saw Sam fly over the grave and land on the other said with a thud.

"Light her up!" Dean yelled as he jumped out of the grave.

Sam was struggling to sit up, the wind obviously knocked out of him when he hit the ground.

"Hey bitch! I'm full of secrets and shame, come get me!"

With one ghostly hand still on Sam, she reached and grabbed Dean slamming him into a tree with a grunt.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment as Linda tilted her head at the Winchester's. Her eyes fell on Sam and she sighed.

"You really care about him don't you? You would die for him?" Linda asked in a ghostly whisper.

Sam stared at the ghost, not quite sure how he should answer, so he decided to go with the truth.

"Of course I would." Linda tilted her head some more and dropped Dean on the ground.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because he's my brother… and he's all I've got."

A sad look came over her face as she flinched, the fire of her grave finally putting her to rest.

Sam pushed himself off the ground and over to his brother.

"You okay Dean?" Sam asked.

"Uhhhh… kinda? I'm not in immediate danger…" Dean said suspiciously.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.

Sam turned his brother over and swore under his breath as he saw the damage.

"Everyone okay over here?"

"Dean's hurt pretty bad! Managed to fall on a branch, and it's piercing right through his side." Sam said.

"Great, just what I needed tonight, a dying Winchester." Caleb groaned.

Dean snorted and winced as Sam pulled him to a standing position, exposing the branch that seemed to be wedge right below his skin.

"See guys? Just a flesh wound. Didn't lose any limbs, even managed to gain one, huh?"

"Yeah you joke now, I'm more concerned about the infection that could make its way into your system if we don't get it out." Caleb said.

"Well. Then lets get back to the motel, so I can take a tree branch out of my brothers side." Sam said.

Dean groaned as he got his feet underneath him.

"You are going to enjoy this way too much."

Sam licked his lips as the Impala came into view.

"I've never enjoyed causing you pain Dean."

The brother's eyes met for a moment, both knowing the true meaning behind those words.

"Right back at you Sammy." Dean whispered.

Sam kind of smirked, knowing that the current tension between them was gone.

"Hey Caleb? Keep an eye on my brother, and make sure he doesn't jostle this thing." Sam said.

"You got it kiddo."

It was a quiet ride back to the motel, but at least this time it was a comfortable silence.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Dean was placed on the bed farthest from the front door when Caleb went to retrieve the first aid kit for the car. Sam used his pocketknife to cut up the side of Dean's shirt so he had better access to the wound.

"Hey dickhead, I like this shirt." Dean mumbled.

Sam snorted and ripped the rest of the shirt.

"It was wrecked anyway and we'll never be able to get your blood out of the damn thing." Sam answered.

He threw the ruined shirt into the corner of the room and began to assess the damage. It wasn't as bad as Sam had feared; the stick went around the ribs instead of through them, piercing just under the skin. Sam sighed as Caleb walked back in with the first aid kit.

"How's our boy?" Caleb asked, passing the kit to Sam.

"He'll live, he is just gonna be a whiny pain in the ass for the next little while." Sam answered.

"Hey!" Dean complained. "Dean Winchester does not whine."

Caleb snorted loudly, and sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"Who're you trying to convince, Deuce? We have seen you through some of the whiniest times of your life." Caleb said.

"I think you are confusing me with Sammy…" Dean mumbled.

"Alright enough, shove these down your throat before you die from infection." Sam said, shaking out three pills. "And Caleb, do me a favour and hold my brother down while I get this thing out."

"You got it Doc."

Caleb held Dean down by the shoulders while Sam pulled the stick out in one movement causing Dean to curse loudly.

"Sorry Dean." Sam whispered.

"S'alright little brother." Dean said.

"Just gonna disinfect and bandage it and then you can rest."

Dean nodded sleepily allowing Sam to finish his ministrations.

"Hey Sammy?"

"What do you need Dean?"

"Nothing I just… look… I'm sorry for the way I've been acting this week. It isn't your fault that I am mad about the Stanford thing… you needed a life and I should have respected that."

Sam sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm not mad at you Dean… I was just mad."

"I know…I should have left you with Jessica, I should have left you alone."

"Jesus Dean… I hope that's just the drugs talking." Sam said.

"What the hell did you give him?" Caleb asked.

"Something for the pain, figured he would need it." Sam said.

"Sam, I'm sorry."

"Dean, you really think I am here because of something you did wrong? I am here because of everything you did right. Jessica would still be dead if you hadn't of shown up that night. I made her vulnerable by being with her. That is not your burden to carry Dean."

"I don't want you to be in pain... you're my brother, I don't like not being able to fix it. "

Sam laughed quietly.

"You don't need to fix this for me… I just want you to be here. Although I have to admit, I'm kinda jealous of what we used to be… it was us against the world and I thought you could protect me from anything… more then anything I miss being your brother. And it's too late to fix it."

Dean gulped as he forced his eyes to stay open.

"It's never too late Sammy…"

Sam said nothing as Dean drifted off to sleep. When he was sure he was out for good, Sam stood, grabbed a bottle of whiskey and headed out the door. Caleb sighed and followed him out the door.

They sat side by side on the bumper of the Impala as Sam drank his troubles way.

"You okay kid?" Caleb asked.

"I feel like a dick, I didn't mean to make him feel like that…"

"Yeah well, in your defense, most of that is Dean's personal self loathing, he already thought most of those things."

"I didn't have to reinforce it."

"Yeah well, this week neither of you showed the best side of yourselves. But at the end of the day, you got each others backs, and forgive each other."

"Yeah I guess… I just wish I knew how to make everything the way it was before."

"Well maybe you aren't supposed to."

Sam frowned deeply and looked over at Caleb.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… when you left you were a kid, and you had a kids way of looking at things. Now you are both grown up, on an equal playing field."

"So? What's your point?"

"Well, things may never be the way they were before, but you can create something new out of it. Maybe you can even build a better relationship this time around."

"Yeah maybe…"

"I'm telling you kid. You guys are gonna be alright."

"Yeah… maybe."

Caleb ruffled the younger man's hair, and Sam gave him a rude gesture back.

"C'mon, it's over lets go get some sleep, we are gonna have to deal with Dean's stupidity all day tomorrow."

Sam laughed, and made his way back to the room with Caleb. They were lucky, the three of them, to have each other. Sam felt safe knowing that he would be protected, and that he could protect those he loved as well.

As he drifted off to sleep, his heart didn't feel so heavy.

THE END


End file.
